S Poddar
Pop star extraordinaire Taylor Swift finally closed off her record-smashing Eras Tour over in London with a very special live premiere for her track “So Long London,” taken from the brand-new, much-anticipated album of critical acclamation, The Tortured Poets Department.
Swift closed her UK and European tour on Tuesday 20 August, with her eighth sold-out show at Wembley Stadium. Since it began, it has been a source of particular anticipation for fans, wondering whether Swift would perform the powerful track that is believed to reflect on the end of her relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. The couple had been dating for six long years before their relationship ended at the beginning of 2023.
The lyrics of “So Long London” are pretty emotional, which makes a lot of people relate the song to her breakup with Alwyn. Those lines, “I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath / I stopped CPR, after all it’s no use / The spirit was gone, we would never come to / And I’m pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free,” mean the emotions and despair of losing and feeling so mad. It really struck the crowd during her live performance.
The former couple is believed to have spent a significant part of the pandemic in a rented home in Primrose Hill, with Swift often taking walks on Hampstead Heath during her stays in the UK. It was through these details that speculation regarding the song’s connection to Alwyn and their time together in London became rife.
For the final night at Wembley, Swift had included Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine. She raised her on stage for their intense performance of their collaboration “Florida.” As that wasn’t enough, Swift surprised fans with the acoustic performances of “Death by a Thousand Cuts” and “Getaway Car,” calling out her longtime collaborator/friend, Jack Antonoff.
The same thing had occurred earlier in the week, on Friday, 16 August, when the singer surprised and delighted that crowd by performing “London Boy,” a song from her 2017 album Lover, said to be an encapsulation of what it felt like to be in love with Alwyn during the early, heady days of their romance. The song describes scenes of the couple strolling around London: through Camden Market all relaxed, on lively nights out in Brixton, and tucking into relaxed pints in Soho.
As the curtains closed on her time in London, Swift took a second to reflect on the journey of the Eras Tour. During her 100th performance in Liverpool, in June, Swift confessed that she knows it will be one of the sweetest bittersweet moments when, in December, the tour finally closes the curtain on what has no doubt been one of the most extraordinary chapters in her career. “This tour has been the most draining, comprehensive: the enigma of giving on its own with joy and rewarding itself with the wonder of the best thing which ever happened to my life,” she stated, furthermore adding, “And that feels so far away from now, but then again, it feels like we just played our first show.
Swift’s decision to debut “So Long London” in her last concert in the city added a poignant note to her goodbye. While this song was already adored by fans, it holds even more significance now after being performed live in the place where many believe it was inspired.
Just as he has been quiet mostly on the whole breakup, Alwyn dropped one comment about the end of two years in an interview with The Sunday Times ‘s Style Magazine recently. One could only feel the trouble felt by the singer about the softened break-up of a two-year-long relationship that had lasted for over six years. “I would hope that anyone and everyone can relate and understand the struggles that can come with a break-up at the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years,” he shared. He further touched on the fact that such a personal experience combined with the public eye is so rarefied that he stated, ” The anomaly and awkwardness, or whatever one might call it, in the situation is that one week later, suddenly it is in the public domain and the outside world is inquiring and giving their press conferences.
Immediately following the split with Alwyn, Swift entered a brief fling with Matty Healy, the lead vocalist of The 1975. Rumored to have been written about said fling are songs off The Tortured Poets Department. Swift is currently dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and the two have been seen supporting each other at games and concerts since starting to date in September of 2023.
Following this, Swift’s Eras Tour will move to the United States and Canada, covering Miami, New Orleans, and Indianapolis, among other locations. The tour will close in Vancouver on 8 December, just a week ahead of Swift’s 35th birthday.
The Tortured Poets Department has been such a huge success that it now ties Carole King’s Tapestry for the third-most weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 by a female artist. Only Adele’s 21 and Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard soundtrack spent more weeks at the top.
In a glowing five-star review, The Independent’s Helen Brown heaped praise on Poets to be a “great reminder of [Swift’s] storytelling powers,” noting that the piece proved she could still cut it in terms of both relevance and her abilities in the music industry. Not until live performances during the Eras Tour did this level that Swift had placed herself reach the name of the most compelling and powerful contemporary artists.
